Silence Speaks Louder Than Words
by F Elizabeth
Summary: Blaine Anderson and Kurt Hummel sit through a memorable National Day of Silence.  In honor of the National Day of Silence, April 15th, 2011


_This is in honor of the National Day of Silence, taking place today, April 15th, 2011. Some characters may not be recognizable. For clarification, see Warbling and Other Dalton Mishaps._

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><p>The North commons of Dalton were so silent, Blaine Anderson would have assumed they were empty. But as he walked through the doors, he quickly remembered the date.<p>

Wes and David sat on the sofa with game controllers in their hands. Their thumbs moved against the knobs and buttons and produced a plastic clicking sound. The screen was alive with brightly colored graphics, but no sound came from the television set. It was on mute. The pair seemed to enjoy the game nevertheless. Silence or sound, they would play.

Cody Michaels, with his pale brown hair and petite frame, sat cross-legged at the table at the back of the room. He flipped carefully through a Chemistry book that sat in front of him so as to not make a sound. He found an answer and scribbled it down in cursive on his worksheet. He turned back to the book to search for another answer. Thomas Reid accompanied him and was resting his chin on his hands. He watched Cody work diligently and a shock of vibrant red hair fell in his eyes. He didn't bother brushing it away. He, too, was silent.

Then Blaine saw him. Kurt sat with his back against the window on the cushions, a folder resting in his lap. He twirled a pen between his fingers and paused to turn a page silently. The way the fading afternoon light hit the crown of his head made Blaine sigh inwardly. It cast a golden glow to his already shining hair and gave the illusion of a halo drifting inches above his head. His murky eyes sparkled as they darted across the page and soaked up the words that were there.

Blaine felt awkward standing there in the doorway. He crossed the room in a few long strides and dropped his bag at Kurt's feet, making the other boy look up and smile. Blaine started to part his lips to say a greeting, but Kurt reminded him by holding a finger up. Blaine nodded, embarrassed, and sat down next to him. The silence, no matter how symbolic it was, was pounding. It thudded against Blaine's ears and he could hear his own pulse that beat at a constant rhythm. He worried his lower lip and glanced at Kurt.

Kurt was writing away on his worksheet, something about an assignment in their Literature class. His handwriting was elegant and curved gracefully, almost like cursive, but not. When he got stuck on a question he pulled the pen away from the paper and clicked it twice, licking his lower lip. Blaine found himself paying particularly close attention to that motion and felt his face go red, and he turned away. Blaine let out a soft sigh and watched David and Wes battle it out on their silent video game.

Then there was a tap on his shoulder and Blaine looked to see Kurt with a slip of scrap paper between his fingers, extending it to him. Blaine took it and read Kurt's easy scrawl:

_It's quiet in here, isn't it?- K_

Maybe it was meant to be humorous, or rhetoric. Blaine stared at the words like he expected more to suddenly appear. But it was just those words on the paper. After staring at it for what seemed like hours, Blaine fished a pencil and a binder out of his bag. He quickly wrote down a message and handed it back to Kurt. Blaine settled the binder on his lap comfortably and tucked one leg under him, drumming the pencil against the binder's spine as he waited for Kurt to return the paper.

Seconds later the paper fluttered onto the binder and Blaine found Kurt's earlier message and his own—"Yeah, I kind of noticed. It's nice, actually"—below it. Under that was Kurt's next reply:

_It is nice. It's not every day we can enjoy this kind of silence. I wish more people would remember this day, and not because it's when taxes are due. – K_

Blaine resisted the urge to chuckle. He did crack a smile and saw Kurt biting his lip as he worked through his assignment. Blaine took his pencil and wrote down his reply:

_I know, right? That's basically the only reason why people pay attention to today. The taxes, I mean. Like you said, it would be nice if people would think of today as something more than a financial death sentence. – B_

Kurt took the slip of paper back. He shifted his homework aside, more engrossed in the note passing than the work. It wasn't due for another two or three days, he could afford to procrastinate for one afternoon. Kurt wrote down his answer and for the next ten minutes, it was back and forth, a ping pong effect, of notes.

_McKinley never celebrated this day last year. I wonder if the principal even knew this time in April__ was the National Day of Silence. – K_

_ Probably not. It would surprise me. I mean, most high schools don't know what today means at all. – B_

_ If anyone would have paid attention to the date, it would have been the football players who tormented me every day. They would push me into the lockers until I screamed, most likely, then taunt me after. – K_

_ I'm sorry. I know what that felt like. – B_

_ It's fine. I'm away from them, away from verbal and physical bullying now. -K_

_Yeah. Hey, speaking of surprises, how'd you get everyone here to go along with it? Cody doesn't have a mute button, and Wes and David would usually be shouting at each other right about now. – B_

_ Well, a little bit of explaining can go so far. Cody was the first to comply and then everyone fell behind him. It was easier than I thought. I imagined having to stick duct tape over their mouths. – K_

_ They aren't that bad. But at least they're quiet. It's nice. I like it like this, without words. Things are so much easier without them. That's why I enjoy the National Day of Silence. – B_

There was a pause as Kurt stopped writing. A minute later he passed the paper back. He had to tear off a new section of paper to accommodate their writing.

_Do you think it's silly that sometimes, only sometimes, I wish we couldn't talk at all? That we couldn't spread lies or anything? – K_

_ Not at all. Actually, that's what I wondered often when I was bullied at my old school. I wanted everyone to be born without vocal chords, so we couldn't talk. It would've made me feel safer. – B_

_ But then, on the downside, I couldn't hear you sing, if you didn't have vocal chords. And then I couldn't sing, which would be a catastrophe. And then all these telephone companies would be out of business. Think of all those people, out of work. – K_

_ Oh no! Not the telephone companies! The world would go into a state of absolute crisis! What a tragedy! – B_

_ Funny, Anderson. – K_

_ I know, I'm just kidding around. You know, you're more threatening when you're quiet. It scares me more than when you snap at me. – B_

_ Then I guess I should use the silent treatment more often - K_

_ But I like the sound of your voice, too. You not talking you be a lose-lose situation. – B_

Again, another moment of pause in which Blaine couldn't believe what he'd written. He'd always found Kurt...attractive, in all sense of the word, since the day he found Kurt spying, unsuccessfully he might add. Admitting he had a little bit less of an obsession with Kurt's voice, while he was both singing and talking, was embarrassing.

_I'm flattered. How would it be lose-lose? – K_

_ You stay quiet, which I know you don't like doing. You hate being bottled up and I hate not hearing you talk. Thus, lose-lose. – B_

_ I see your logic. And you're right, I don't like being bottled up. Want to tell me how you knew that? – K_

_ I think I know you better than yourself. – B_

_ That is probably true. – K_

Kurt's fingers brushed with Blaine's as they passed the paper again, and Kurt felt a jolt between them. He let Blaine take the paper. Kurt willed his heart to stop thrashing in his chest, for it to beat at an even pace. He could feel his skin heating and turned away in advance. So maybe he liked Blaine, just a little...

_There are a lot of things that can be proven true. – B_

_ Yeah, there are, Blaine. I mean, you can say my favorite movie is 'The Sound of Music' and that would be absolutely true. - K_

_ But I'm talking about things that would be true permanently, not one of those little fetishes like favorite movie. – B_

_ Blaine Anderson, you just wrote the word 'fetish.' How am I supposed to take you seriously? – K_

_ Go with it. – B_

_ Okay, so movie fetishes won't always be true. Give me an example of what would be. – K_

_ Well, I could say I love you, and that would be a true statement. That's not a fetish. – B_

The sentence was a mess of letters caused by the shaking of Blaine's hand. It shook even more as he handed it to Kurt. He watched the flicker of surprise on Kurt's face. For a moment the other boy just sat there and stared at the paper. Finally, when Blaine that hell was close to freezing over, Kurt wrote back and handed the paper over.

_I guess that is true. And it would also be true to say that I love you, Blaine. – K_

Blaine raised his head, his eyebrows went up. Kurt had his hands tightly knit in his lap and was trying not to smile. His cheeks were a light shade of pink, the same color as his lips. Blaine tried not to stare.

Then Kurt lunged and took the paper and started writing again. He handed it back.

_If you're just going to sit there and look like a lovesick puppy, let me ask you this: how can saying 'I love you' be proven? I would consider it as one of those things that fade in and out...like fetishes, in your words. – K_

Blaine pursed his lips and folded the paper neatly in half. Then in half again, then in half again, until it was a little tiny square in the palm of Blaine's hand. He let it fall onto the seat between them and looked up at Kurt. Kurt was staring at the balled up paper like it was going to sprout wings. Blaine took a deep breath and scooted closer.

The kiss was sweet. Kurt was shocked by the touch of Blaine's lips against his and his eyes stayed wide. He felt Blaine's hand rest over his knee, the other cupping his cheek tenderly. Kurt's heart fluttered erratically in his chest and his mind screamed at him, _pull away! _But it was Blaine, he wasn't going to hurt Kurt, he would never.

Slowly he brought his hand to Blaine's face and parted his lips slightly. A soft gasp came from Blaine and his hand tightened of Kurt's knee. Blaine's lips tasted like the Junior Mints he'd pulled out during lunch, chocolate and minty and cool. Then, as quickly as it had started, it was over. Blaine kept his face close to Kurt's and he could see the smile spreading across the other boy's face.

Kurt leaned forward and locked his arms around Blaine's neck, kissing him once on the cheek. He knew Blaine could feel it as he mouthed, "I love you" against his skin.

If they had been in a normal setting, the room around them would have gone completely silent, and everyone would have stared. The boys in the room did stare, but with giddy grins on their faces. But Kurt and Blaine were wrapped up in their own kind of silence.


End file.
